 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Volume 8 No. 3 - July 2000 - December 2000
Lobsinger Line - County Road 15 running between Waterloo and St Clements in Waterloo, County, Ontario, Canada. Photo by William Querengesser
Count Joseph's Home - Joseph Lobsinger, patriarch of the Canadian Lobsinger branch, built this stone home in 1856. It is located near Phillipsburg, North Easthope Township, Perth County, Ontario, Canada, and currently owned by Ron Wetlauffer. Photo by William Querengesser. OBITUARIES BATTE, Leo Lawrence BATTE, Leo Lawrence - Of RR 1, Mildmay, passed away, at South Bruce Grey Health Centre, Walkerton, on Monday, June 19, 2000. He was 85. Survived by his wife Eileen (Strauss); sons, Dr. Ron and his wife Monica of RR 3, Walkerton, Allan and his wife Bernadette of RR 1, Mildmay, Brian and his wife Mary of Walkerton, Wayne and his wife Marylou of RR 1, Mildmay; daughters, Doreen Cox of Walkerton, Karen and her husband Bob Baetz of Petersburg, Mary Ann and her husband Paul Wettlaufer of Ayton, Doris and her husband Lloyd Grubb of RR 1, Mildmay, Brenda and her husband Bert Mullen of RR 3, Mildmay. Also survived by twenty- four grandchildren and one great-grandchild; brothers, Edward and Frank, both of Walkerton and sister, Carol Weiler of Hamilton. Predeceased by his parents, Anthony and Barbara (Ruetz) Batte; brother, John and sister, Teresa (Mrs. Eugene) Schnurr. Visitation at Tanner & Pearson Funeral Home, Walkerton, today (Wednesday) from 2-4 and 7-9 p.m. Funeral mass will be held on Thursday, June 22, 2000 at 11 a.m. at Immaculate Conception Church, Formosa. Interment in Immaculate Conception Cemetery, Formosa, Ont. Vigil prayers will be held on today (Wednesday, June 21, 2000) at 2:30 p.m. at the funeral home, followed by Knights of Columbus rosary at 9 p.m. Memorial donations to the Canadian Diabetes Association or Immaculate Conception Church, would be appreciated as expressions of sympathy. Source: Kitchener-Waterloo Record, Area Code: 519 (House of Peter) LOBSINGER, David LOBSINGER, David.At Tillsonburg District Memorial Hospital, on Tuesday, June 22, 1999, David Eric Michael Lobsinger of 83 Broadway, Tillsonburg, in his 13th year. Born in Tillsonburg, September 6 1986, much loved son and best friend of Frank Lobsinger of Tillsonburg and Kim Lobsinger of Tillsonburg. Loved brother and guardian angel of Amanda and Brent. Dear grandson of Laurier and Verna Lobsinger of Kitchener, Harvey and Marie Mitchell of Hanover and Harvey and Eleanor Riley of Kitchener. Survived by several aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews and cousins. David was special. He made a very positive impression with everyone he came into contact with. He will be missed by his many friends. David was a Grade 6 student at Monsignor O'Neil School, Tillsonburg (with Miss Lagoda as his teacher). David also had many friends with the Tillsonburg Third (3rd) Scout Pack at St. Paul's Church with Scout Master Maurice Goulet. Friends and relatives are invited to share memories with the family today (Wednesday) from 12 noon until 2 p.m. at the Verhoeve Funeral Home. Mass of the Angels to be celebrated today (Wednesday) at 3 p.m. at St. Mary's RC Church, 51 Venison St. W., Tillsonburg, by Rev. Father Michael Langan. Public prayers were held in the Verhoeve Funeral Home Chapel on Tuesday at 7 p.m. Interment later in Tillsonburg Cemetery. Memorial donations to the Children's Wish Foundation, the Canadian Cancer Society or the Children Can Support Foundation would be appreciated by the family. Funeral arrangements for David were entrusted with confidence to the Verhoeve Funeral Home, 262 N. Broadway, Tillsonburg, (519)-842-4238. (House of Louis) Jacqueline Doss Jacqueline "Jackie" Dee Doss, 65, of Pevely, Mo., died Jan. 25, 2000 in Crystal City. Mrs. Doss had been a homemaker. Born June 26, 1934, in Belleville, Ill., she was the daughter of Irene (Palmer) Lobsinger of Arnold and the leate Leslie Lobsinger. She is survived by her husband of 48 years, Lawrence Doss of Pevely; two daughters: Pam (Nicholas) Stonich of Waterloo, Ill.; and Angela Yates of Pevely; four sons: Lawrence "Steve" (Candace) Doss of Festus; Joseph (Caroline) Doss of Festus; Thomas Doss of Viburnum, Mo.; and Edward W. (Jeannie) Doss of Arnold; four sisters: Carol Lane of Arnold; Pat Leib of Vancouver, WA.; June Carr of Granite City, Ill.; and Linda Atkins of Cahokia, Ill; three brothers: Ronnie Lobsinger of Cahokia; Kenny Lobsinger of South Haven, Miss.; and Donne Lobsinger of Belleville; 16 grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by a son, Michael Doss. Funeral services were Jan. 28, 2000 at Mahn Twin City Chapel, officiated by the Rev. David Holman and the Rev. Jim Manning. Burial was in Rose Lawn Memorial Gardens in Crystal City. Memorials may be made to the American Cancer Society. Arrangements were under the direction of Mahn Twin City Chapel. (House of Michel) Linda Atkins Linda K. Atkins, nee Lobsinger, 53, of Cahokia, Ill., born May 30, 1947, in St. Louis, Mo., died Monday, July 24, 2000 at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, St. Louis, Mo. Mrs. Atkins was a member of the Maplewood Park Baptist Church, Cahokia, Ill. Mrs. Atkins was preceded in death by her father, eslie Lobsinger; and a sister, Jacqueline Doss. Surviving are her husband, Raymond Atkins; a son, Bryan (Mary) Atkins of Cahokia, Ill., two daughters, Sheila (Daniel) Governal of Killeen, Texas, and Renee Atkins of Cahokia, Ill; two granddaughters, Brittany Atkins and Tara Governal; a grandson, Daniel Governal; her mother, Irene, nee Palmer, Lobsinger of Arnold, Mo.; three brothers, Ronald Lobsinger of Cahokia, Ill., Kenneth (Katie) Lobsinger of South Haven, Miss., and Donald Lobsinger of Belleville, Ill.; three sisters, Carol Lane of Arnold, Mo., June (Kenneth) Carr of Granite City, Ill., and Patricia (Joseph) Lieb of Vancouver, Wash.; and numerous nieces and nephews. Memorials may be made to the American Diabetes Association or to the National Kidney Foundation. Funeral Services were held at 1 pm Thursday, July 27, 2000 at Pete Gaerdner Funeral Home, Belleville, Ill. Burial was in Valhalla Gardens of Memory, Belleville, Ill. (House of Michel) SCHNARR, Cyril SCHNARR, Cyril - Passed away peacefully, at home, surrounded by his family, on August 6, 2000, at the age of 78. He was lovingly cared for by his family after struggling with emphysema for many years. He was the most loved husband of Rita (Huber); proud father and father- in-law of Ruth Ann and Bob Wilhelm, Allan and Leila, Glen, Greg and Carol, John and Carol, Barb and John Zitars, Peter and Michele, Chris and Lisa. He was loved and adored by his 14 grandchildren. His parents, Anna Lobsinger and Herbert Schnarr; his brother, Anthony Schnarr and his granddaughter, Emily Zitars are now with him in heaven. Survived by his siblings, Sister Beatrice Schnarr, SJ, Gerald and Ruth Schnarr, Rueben and Anne Schnarr, Laverne and Yvonne Schnarr. Mr. Schnarr was a man of many talents. His proudest accomplishment was his family. He was a wonderful husband, father and grandfather. He was born and raised in St. Clements, Ont., where he was a mass server for 16 years. He worked with his dad building barns in the St. Clements area for five years and also served as a volunteer firefighter. He enjoyed playing hockey in his spare time. He built his own house in St. Clements and moved to Waterloo in 1959. Other accomplishments include President of the Holy Name Society, President of the Catholic Parent Teachers Association, Cub Scout Leader, Hockey Coach, member of the Waterloo Horticultural Society, President of the Parish Council, Chairman of the Property and Maintenance Committee and active participant in the Refugee Committee at Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Waterloo. Mr. Schnarr worked at Dunker Construction for 18 years, at Barnett, Rieder, Hymmen Architects for 11 years and at Walter, Fedy, McCargar, Hachborn, Horton and Ball for 17 years. During
his retirement, he worked on writing the genealogy for both himself
and his father. His hobbies included tending to his house plants,
his vegetable gardens, woodworking and The family expresses their deep appreciation to Father Edward Sheridan, Father Robert Liddy CR, Dr. Robert Ballantyne and Dr. Mary Jackson, the many sensitive and generous caregivers from the Community Care Access Centre and the VON. Special thanks to all our friends who supported our family so lovingly during this time. Visitation
at Ratz-Bechtel Funeral Home , 621 King St. W., Kitchener Tuesday
7-9 p.m. and 2-4 and 7-9 p.m. today (Wednesday). Parish prayers
will be recited this evening (Wednesday) at 8:45 p.m. Funeral
Mass at Our Lady of Lourdes on Thursday at 11 a.m. Everyone is
invited to join Cyril's family in the parish hall following the
interment at Parkview Cemetery, Waterloo. Donations may be made
to Our Lady of Lourdes Church or The Lung Association-Waterloo
Region. "Would that we could all accomplish half as much
in our lifetimes. His life has enriched us all". Source:
Kitchener-Waterloo Record, Area Births Cassidy Shae Wilson Jeff and Shanna Wilson announce the arrival of their daughter Cassidy Shae Wilson on Tuesday, July 11, 2000. Cassidy weighed in at 9 lbs 8 oz. Grandparents are Sharon and John Wilson. (House of Louis) Craig Paul Lobsinger Craig Paul Lobsinger was born at 11:15PM on Oct 12 / 00. Weighted in at 9 lbs 5 oz. Big Boy!!!! Craig Paul is the son of Paul and Sylvie Lobsinger, grandson of Ronald and Jeannette (Ernest) Lobsinger, and great grandson of Irwin and Ruth Lobsinger. (House of Louis) San Francisco Bay Area Lobsingers
Phillip Lobsinger Family - Family Portrait 2000. Top row: Raymond Julio Lobsinger, Richard Alexander Lobsinger, Phillip Joseph Lobsinger (Dad), Nicolas Allen Lobsinger, Christopher Anthony Lobsinger, Phillip Anthony Lobsinger, Mike , Tamara A McDougal. Middle row: Austin D Lobsingr, Ashley Lynn Lobsinger, Suzy (Mrs. Raymond J) Lobsinger, Anna (Mrs. Richard A) Lobsinger, Aurelina Lobsinger (Mom), Kirsten (Mrs. Phillip A) Lobsinger, Betty Ann (Lobsinger) McDougal Paasch, Jessica Ann Paasch. Bottom row: Alexis M. Lobsinger, Katie A. Lobsinger, Anastasia Marie Lobsinger . (House of Michel) February
29, 2000 Michael E. Lobsinger Heads Up Zi Corporation [ZICA], A Calgary, Alberta-Based Maker Of Embedded Software Technologies (Michael E. Lobsinger - Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Zi Corporation. Mr. Lobsinger has been Zi's chairman and chief executive officer since 1993, when he acquired a control block in the company. He has guided Zi through a number of industries, divesting of companies that were not related to Zi's intended core business and acquiring companies that were in similar spaces. In 1997, Mr. Lobsinger focused Zi's business on the embedded space for language input technology and Internet distance education and has subsequently managed the growth of the company. Mr. Lobsinger has sat on the board of directors for numerous public and private companies. ) Zi Corporation has suffered relative financial anonymity until the beginning of this year. The company, which makes technology enabling short messaging, email, e-commerce, and other applications for the Internet and information appliances in many languages, has not enjoyed nurture and publicity from a traditional investment banking relationship. In an exclusive StockHouse interview, CEO Michael Lobsinger explains that a new association with Lehman Brothers will only add to the company's positive market reputation. The company's intuitive language processing software is being aggressively marketed to the exploding global wireless sector. Contracts from Ericsson and Alcatel will positively affect the bottom line, contributing to the bullish buzz heard about the company. Vancouver, BC, February 29 /SHfn/ -- Zi Corporation [ZICA], a Calgary, Alberta-based maker of embedded software technologies allowing ideographs and other linguistic characters to be entered on traditional keyboards or keypads, has rapidly increased its market capitalization during the past 12 months. The company has moved from a 52-week low of less than US$1 to a high of $40.88 February 7. In fact, it recorded gains of more than 1000%, outpacing the performance of all major North American indices in a very bullish year. The promise of royalty revenues, detailed in a series of news releases trumpeting Zi's successes in China, has bolstered the market's support of the company. Its efforts to move from research and development operations toward a royalty-based revenue model have occurred coincidentally with the Street's enthusiasm for the Chinese market. The company's CEO, Michael Lobsinger, says, "All of a sudden the market became aware of China, became aware of the wireless application space, and found that we were a major player in it." When asked how he will ensure Zi maintains its market momentum, Lobsinger is sanguine, responding that he will continue to concentrate on the process of building relationships, confident that the market will look after the stock. The reply may sound cavalier, but Zi has achieved its substantial stock valuation and staggering revenue growth without the benefits of institutional banking support. Prior to its January announcement that Zi had engaged investment banker Lehman Brothers [LEH] to act as its exclusive financial advisor, the company had raised all the capital it needed on its own. Consequently, the firm had failed to register with many in the financial establishment until the stock began to outperform the indices. For six years, Zi Corp has been working to develop its language enabling technology. With the vision that any company could sell anything to anyone in any language, the company first targeted the vast market opportunity represented by China. According to Lobsinger, "We concentrated on the Chinese market because that was the largest market and the most difficult, and it was the market that had no legacy of product." The technology, which is called eZiTEXT, uses an 8-stroke set to recreate or intuitively construct any one of the 50,000 or so ideographs in Zi's Chinese character set. "By the end of this year, Zi will have software that allows users to interact with e-mail, the Internet, pagers, mobile phones, and interactive TV set-top boxes in 30 different languages." The Chinese version of eZiTEXT was the model for the legion of languages that have followed. Using the same intuitive search engine structure, which allows input keystrokes to build characters and search for words, the company now boasts 17 languages including Japanese, Korean, and 14 Romantic or European languages. Zi engineers are currently at work on several other languages with unique character sets or alphabets - Greek, Arabic, Hindi, and Tamil. By the end of this year, Zi will have software that allows users to interact with e-mail, the Internet, pagers, mobile phones, and interactive TV set-top boxes in 30 different languages. Much of the buzz heard about Zi during the past several months has included mentions of the business' acceptance in China. On January 25, Zi announced it had received approval for its Chinese language processing software from the State Language Commission in China. After years of careful and friendly contact, Lobsinger is proud to say, "We've got the relationship with the Ministry of Education through the State Linguistic Commission. That's been years to develop. We're the only company in the world - including any Chinese company - that actually fits the code that's been set down by the Chinese government for creation of characters." There are other companies with solutions to inputting Chinese characters - hundreds of them according to Lobsinger. But, none of these entities has attacked the marketplace with the same vigour as Zi. In addition, many previous input systems were based on English character input. The user had to know some English in order to approximate the desired Chinese sound using the keyboard. After extensive searching, one could locate the equivalent Chinese characters. Official Chinese government recognition was a coup, but Zi's technology has been lauded by two large European mobile phone makers, Alcatel [ALA] and Ericsson [ERICY]. The fact these wireless heavyweights chose to include the Zi product, supports the company's contention that its products are the most intuitive language input systems on offer. The arrangements with Alcatel and Ericsson provide a solid foundation for the company's growth plans. "Growth outside of China, or growth not specifically targeted to the Chinese market is twofold. One is companies like Alcatel that have a global operation and sell in different languages no matter what the product is. The second one is Chinese OEMs." Lobsinger says that Chinese original equipment manufacturers are anxious to target foreign customers in addition to their own massive domestic markets. Relationships with seven manufacturers in China enable those OEMs to "compete globally with product in other languages." Communication Intelligence [CICI], which appears to be a competitor on the surface, makes software for recognizing handwritten characters in Chinese, Japanese, and Western European languages. The technology converts handwriting into digital text, but has no facility for inputting messages. CICI, trading at about $8 on the NASDAQ Small Cap market, announced February 24 that it had joined a long list of companies agreeing to work with the Symbian alliance. Zi announced February 15 that because of its engineering expertise with the Symbian platform, Psion, and its preeminent position in Asia, it had been selected for the Symbian Competence Center program. Unfortunately, the market did not react with enthusiasm to the Symbian announcement. The four original Symbian partners - Ericsson, Nokia [NOK], Motorola [MOT], and Panasonic - formed the venture to adopt a non-Microsoft [MSFT] operating system that the owners could utilize to power their wireless devices. Investors aren't yet aware of the Symbian name as the venture is not yet a public company. The largest manufacturer of PCs in China, Legend, has called its newly launched set-top box the Chinese Family Computer, after an idea suggested by Zi took hold. "You have Zi technology embedded on the handset that drives the set-top box, so that when you turn on your television - and there's already 450 million of them - you press menu and you get the Chinese menu and now you're using [the eZiTEXT] 8 strokes on your handset just like you would on the cell phone." Lobsinger takes great pains to point out that Zi technology has the potential to reach 50% of the world's population right now. He also thinks that investment firms have not yet fully appreciated the potential inherent in the company's education portal. On December 22, Zi unveiled plans for its recently acquired subsidiary, Ozlearning. The former Beijing Oz inked an agreement with the Continuing Education Institute of the China Central Radio and Television University (CRTVU). The CRTVU plans to make many of its courses available online through the Ozlearning site, and to diminish its reliance on television distribution. "Zi will be, "The exclusive manager of the portal that is going to manage the delivery of all the courses. We have an exclusive management agreement in what I'll call the largest educational portal probably in the world." Zi will be, "The exclusive manager of the portal that is going to manage the delivery of all the courses. We have an exclusive management agreement in what I'll call the largest educational portal probably in the world," said Lobsinger. The eight-year agreement will allow Zi to earn income from three different streams - courseware, advertising and banner revenue, and database management for the potential mammoth e-commerce applications. With 3.3 million students and 11.75 million teachers who must upgrade their skills every two years, Zi has potentially 15.05 million eyeballs. The company last reported quarterly results in November 1999. For the three months ended September 30, 1999 - Zi's Q3 - revenues were higher than the same period in the prior year by 112%. On income of $772,881, the company recorded a loss of $0.03. The increases reflected the first royalty payments from the arrangement to put the Zi technology on all five platforms Ericsson sells in China. Fourth quarter results, due on March 15, are predicted by the CEO to be greater than Q3 numbers, as the company is moving from its development stage to a product sales phase. The revenue model is identical in each contract Zi signs. "In every case we have signed an agreement that is basically broken down into four. There is an initial licensing fee. There is an implementation fee, or a non-recurring engineering fee. There is a royalty on every product. Then there is a maintenance and support fee. The prime source of our revenue will be a royalty on every product." With the growing acceptance of wireless, and with more languages to offer potential clients, Lobsinger says that record growth will continue into the year 2000. The stock is trading about 13% below its 52-week high on both sides of the border, but may receive a boost if year-end numbers reflect the positive growth Lobsinger expects. Investors may be further heartened if Zi receives approval to jump from the NASDAQ Small Cap Market to the National Market. The company made the application to move to the National Market several months ago, and awaits NASDAQ's decision. The relationship with Lehman Brothers is a mutually beneficial one. The private placement stewarded by the investment bank increased institutional holdings of Zi stock in addition to raising $25 million. New stakeholders include the Ontario Teachers Pension Fund, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, and Essex Capital. Zi's place in the wireless market had enticed Lehman Brothers. "Lehman wants to establish a relationship because we're in the space that they're playing in. They have identified the WAP [wireless application protocol] space. They have identified arenas like Bluetooth ™ and the convergence of all these technologies. And we are a player in that game." The arrangement with Lehman provides for research coverage on Zi, but the bank is still in the process of selecting the most appropriate analyst. Meantime, Zi has some cash on hand, and is looking for an acquisition that "will enhance our product offering." With support from the establishment and a virtually unlimited market that includes few competitors, the stock surely has further to go. (House of Peter)
|
||
 |
 |
Return to Trader's Bend Home